All Members of the Basketball Manitoba Board of Directors are responsible for upholding its mandate and the statements appearing in the Association's Bylaws and Policies. Each member holds one vote when present at an official meeting of the Board of Directors, except for the President, who only votes in the case of a tie. Members of the Board attend monthly meetings (traditionally the last Monday of the month), assist the Association with fundraising and special events, and maintain the portfolio specific to their duties assigned.Basketball Manitoba's current Board Members are...
President - Sara GillisSara (Conlin) Gillis has been immersed in basketball for over 40 years. Her basketball roots began in Brandon, where she played Earl Oxford Junior High School basketball, then high school basketball at Crocus Plains, followed by 5 years with the Brandon University Bobcats. Sara also played 4 seasons on the Manitoba Provincial Team, including the 1985 Canada Games silver medal team.
Throughout her 29-year teaching career as a physical educator, Sara coached high school girls’ basketball, finishing her high school coaching career with back-to-back MHSAA AAA Basketball Championship titles (2015 & 2016) with the R. D. Parker Collegiate Varsity Girls program. Twenty-six of her 29 years of teaching were spent at R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson, where Sara also coached several regional and club teams, officiated basketball, ran basketball clinics, camps and club leagues for children and youth, organized basketball tournaments and events, as well as mentored officials and coaches; helping to grow basketball in Thompson and northern Manitoba.
Since retiring from teaching in 2016, Sara has been a basketball volunteer in the 2016 Canada Basketball Men’s National Championships and the 2017 Canada Games, has joined the Targeted Athlete Program coaching staff, coached junior high basketball in her local rural community, officiated basketball and has been a player participating in the Winnipeg Women’s basketball league and in several international “Masters” and “Seniors” basketball competitions.
Past President - Ross WedlakeRoss Wedlake has been involved in basketball for over 40 years as a player, coach and now as an official. He coached the Varsity Boys basketball program at Kildonan East for 20 years, worked as an assistant with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen for 12 years, coached the Varsity Girls at Tec Voc High School and River East Collegiate and the JV Boys and Varsity Girls at St. John's High School. He was a two-term member of the MHSAA Board of Directors and is presently a member of the Board of Sport Manitoba and the Council on Post-Secondary Education (COPSE).
He is an active coaching Learning Facilitator for Coaching Manitoba and Basketball Manitoba and is the present Chair of the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted as a player in 1996). He retired as the Vice Principal of St. John's High School after 34 years as an educator in 2005.
Vice President - Mike WeekesMike has been involved in basketball in Manitoba for over 30 years. As a former member of the University of Manitoba Bisons for 5 years (from 1993-1998), Mike has also had several community basketball experiences as a coach, educator, and convenor. Mike has coached at the middle years and senior years level for over twenty years, where he has coached in several provincial championships. He was named middle years coach of the year in 2004 and was a JHBC Provincial Champion at the grade 9 boys level in 2006. Mike, who is currently a school administrator in Pembina Trails School Division, has had the privilege of working with many provincial teams and university-level athletes. Mike has taken on many different leadership roles within his school division and he has a vested interest in the future of basketball in Manitoba.
James Dark has been active in basketball for the past 15 years. He currently serves as Vice-President and Tournament Director for the Jr. Bison Boys Basketball Club. As the proud father of two sons, he has coached and managed their teams as they progressed from the early days in the WMBA through Club basketball to High School basketball. James is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Varinder has been involved in basketball since the early 2000s, from playing varsity basketball at Sisler High School (graduating in 2004) and WMBA out of Tyndall Park Community Centre. Since then, he has continued to play in the Winnipeg Basketball League, ISL, and Peg City League. Since 2011 he's been involved in coaching as an assistant coach at Sisler High School for their varsity boys team, including multiple trips to the AAAA Final Four, one AAAA final appearance, and multiple tournament wins, including the Wesmen Classic, Luther Invitational and WIT.
Starting in 2020, he spent one year coaching the Grade 9 team at Sisler High School during the COVID shortened season and hopes to continue that next year. In addition to that he helped coach the Winnipeg Storm Chinese community team for one season and help coach the Refresh Basketball men's open elite team for their traveling tournaments.
Carter Chen has been involved in basketball in Manitoba for over 25 years, as a player at Grant Park High School and his team Supafly in the Winnipeg Basketball League (3-time champs). Carter has worked with Kidsport Winnipeg, helping organize Blue Bombers Football Camp, Mark Scheifele Hockey Camp, and Golf Tournaments.
In 2017 Carter was nominated by the Manitoba Government for a position on the Board of Directors for Sport Manitoba (serving 2 terms) and was involved with the 2017 Canada Summer Games and the opening of Sport For Life Centre also was a member of the Sport Manitoba Audit committee. He is passionate about social media and works as a Business Banker with RBC.
Director - Arlyn FilewichArlyn Filewich brings a vast array of experiences in basketball, spanning more than 35 years. Arlyn is a former player, having played basketball in Manitoba at the Junior High, High School, University and Provincial team levels. She also represented Canada as a member of the National B team in 1987 and on the National Junior team in 1988. Arlyn was an integral member of the VMC Trojan Girls powerhouse teams of 1986- 1988 that was recently inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame.
Following her 5-year playing career as a U of M Bison, Arlyn began her teaching and coaching career at Fort Richmond Collegiate, where she coached Varsity Boys, Girls and JV Girls and her local community club over a 25-year period. Now, as a parent of three children, Arlyn’s greatest joy is watching the game of basketball as a fan!
Arlyn works as the Department Head of Teacher Welfare at the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, where she advocates daily for Manitoba’s public school teachers. Arlyn’s work in her community and within the teachers’ union has provided her with solid governance and fiduciary experience that will be an asset to the Board.
Director - Chiranjit GoswamiChiranjit Goswami has been coaching basketball since 1995, first gaining experience at Acadia Junior High before becoming involved with regional and WMBA district teams. He continued coaching at College Beliveau (JV and Varsity Boys) and JH Bruns (JV Girls) while attaining his NCCP Coaching Certification. In 2007, Chiranjit began his involvement with the Winnipeg Wolves Basketball Club and currently serves as the club's Director of Operations. Over the past decade, his Wolves Boys teams have captured five Club Provincial Championships.
While Head Coach of the Manitoba 14U Boys Provincial program between 2010 & 2011, Coach Goswami guided the 2011 Manitoba 14U Boys team to a Silver Medal at the Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops. In 2015, Chiranjit was the Assistant Coach on the Manitoba 16U Boys Provincial team that won another WCSG Silver Medal. While the Assistant Coach for the Varsity Boys team at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, Chiranjit also helped organize the 2014 & 2015 Next-Level Hoops All-Star Showcase. Coach Goswami currently coaches the Winnipeg Wolves Varsity Boys program and is an assistant coach for the Varsity Boys team at Dakota Collegiate.
Director - Kirby Schepp Kirby Schepp has been an active basketball coach since 1993 and is currently the Head Coach of Men's Basketball at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. He was Manitoba's Canada Games Male Coach in 2009 and has served as the Head Coach of Canada Basketball’s CP Prairie Region Boy's Program from 2005 to 2009 (involved since 2001) and is one of Basketball Manitoba's most active NCCP Course Conductor (Levels 1-3). He is also very involved in developing the NCCP model at the national level and is one of Manitoba's few Master Learning Facilitators. He held the position of Manitoba's High-Performance Provincial Coach from 2007 to 2009. His past experience with basketball coaching has been that of President of the MBCA, university assistant coach and university athlete at the University of Winnipeg. Kirby was also named both the AAAA Boys Coach of the Year and the Coaching Manitoba School System Coach of the Year in 2007. Kirby has been involved with the Canadian National Team at a variety of levels at both the head and assistant coaching levels for over a decade.
Director - Michele Sung Michele Sung (Hynes) is the current Head Coach of the Bison women's basketball program. Hynes completed her five-year university playing career with the Manitoba Bisons in 2010. From 2005-10, Hynes was a leader on and off the court as she was a team captain for three consecutive years (2007-08 to ’09-10) Hynes was selected as the 2009-10 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Sylvia Sweeney Award winner – presented to a player who recipient exhibits outstanding achievement in three areas: basketball, academics and community involvement.
Hynes was awarded the 2009 Jim Bulloch Coaching, the 2011-12 Grey Cup Legacy award and a 2012 Women to Watch grant. At the 2013 Canada Games, Hynes joined Randy Kusano, Don Thompson and Coleen Dufresne as the Apprentice Coach for the Manitoba 17U Provincial Team, bringing home a Bronze Medal.